


Twisted Fate

by ConsultingCaffrey



Category: White Collar
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-09
Updated: 2017-08-09
Packaged: 2018-12-13 07:02:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,640
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11754555
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ConsultingCaffrey/pseuds/ConsultingCaffrey
Summary: What if Neal had gotten on the plane with Kate? Would anything have changed?





	Twisted Fate

Neal didn't know what he'd been about to say, but it didn't matter. He couldn't say goodbye to Kate and he couldn't say goodbye to Peter, so he turned away from the agent and kept walking, determined not to look back again. If he did, he knew he wouldn't be able to stick with his choice.

Luckily, Peter didn't try to stop him again, and Neal approached the plane, heart beating wildly. Kate was just inside. They could finally be together after all this time. All that running in circles for Fowler. Well, no more.

Kate smiled at him, relief in her eyes. "It looked to me like you were going to stay."

"I built a good life here," Neal replied. "Peter, the FBI, working cases... it's..."

"It was," Kate corrected. "But now we can go wherever we want. We can be a family."

Neal smiled at that. Family. That was well worth it.

As the plane started up and Kate took her place in the cockpit, Neal cast one more glance out the side window. Peter was still there, which was no surprise. He looked so... No, Neal reminded himself. He's a fed, You're a con. It was always going to end one way or another.

He tore his gaze away once more, looking to Kate instead. "Since when do you know how to fly a plane?"

"Since when was it hard?" she shot back in amusement as the plane started rolling down the runway.

They were finally free after so long.

In just a few short minutes, they were flying high over the city and Kate left the cockpit, letting the plane fly itself on autopilot for now. Her smile as she walked over to him made his heart swell and he smiled back, standing up to kiss her. "I missed you," he murmured.

"I missed you too," she said, draping her arms over his shoulders.

He looked into her eyes, saying seriously, "I think you owe me an apology."

She pulled back slightly. "For what?" She seemed to already know what he meant, but she asked anyway. Always innocent until proven guilty.

"You could have told me, for starters," he pointed out.

"It was too dangerous," was her reply. "I didn't want you getting hurt."

"Well I did," he said, letting that hurt show in his eyes as he added, "You think running off like that, letting me believe you were in danger... You think that didn't hurt?"

She lowered her gaze. "You're right. I should have told you."

He didn't like seeing her face so downcast, so he gave her a small smile, pulling her into another gentle kiss. "Forgiven," he whispered, trailing a hand through her long dark hair.

"You still don't know everything," she teased, moving away again.

Neal looked at her questioningly, almost afraid to ask, but excited at the same time. "There's more?"

"I'll tell you everything," she promised, walking over to the other side of the plane and opening one of the cabinets there. "Starting with the next step."

She tossed him something heavy and he caught it, looking at the dark grey material with a slow smile. "Parachute?"

"Parachute," she grinned. "Ready to die, Neal Caffrey?"

He grinned right back. "You and Fowler really did think of everything, didn't you?"

"Oh please," she said, slipping her own parachute bag over her shoulders like a backpack. "This part was my idea. Even with all that fancy OPR paperwork, we'd never get away."

"So we fake our deaths," Neal finished. All in all, despite being lied to for so long, even he had to admit that he might have done the same.

As he slipped his chute on, he asked, "What about the plane?"

"It's rigged to explode," Kate answered, taking his hand to check the time on his watch. "In ten minutes. But we'll be gone by then. No one will ever find us."

Neal glanced around the small plane, a frown on his face. "Now that I would have preferred not knowing." These things always made him edgy, thinking about everything that could go wrong. It was like that with any con or heist, and usually he'd plan accordingly. But this was Kate's plan, not his. He only hoped she had thought this through and done the same as he would. 

"You asked," she smiled, clipping the chute into place before looking out the window. "Ready?"

Neal gave her a confident nod and watched as she unlocked the side door and slid it open. Cold air blew fiercely in at them, drowning out most sound besides the plane's engines. 

He gestured grandly for her to go first, to which she just smirked and used both hands to give him a shove. As he tumbled out into open air, he reminded himself to get her back for that at some point. 

Above, he saw Kate jump, and he briefly looked back down towards the ground to gauge how far they had to fall. There was open water below them, belonging to the Hudson river. Well, there were worse places to land. There was probably a boat down there waiting for them.

A deafening noise caught his attention, and he snapped his gaze back to Kate, only he couldn't see her. Instead, all he saw was fire and smoke, bits of debris from the plane shooting out into the sky.

Didn't she say ten minutes? It hadn't even been five. Where was she? She'd been too close.

They were both too close.

His eyes widened as much as they could with the rush of air around him and his cry of shock was lost in all the noise. He couldn't see her. Where was she?

There.

She was falling, but her body was limp. He couldn't see that far to be sure, but he though he saw blood on her face.

"Kate!" He knew she wouldn't hear. His voice didn't even register to his own ears. He was falling too fast. But maybe if he could reach her...

He did his best to twist around in the air, positioning himself to try and get closer. She was slightly above him. Maybe if he pulled his chute, he'd be able to catch her, but no, he couldn't reach that far over, and the jolt would make it too difficult to hold on.

Okay, think. He didn't have much time. 

He spread his arms, trying to create as much friction between the air and his body as he could. It worked, and his fall slowed ever so slightly, bringing him nearer to Kate.

He glanced down, alarmed to see the water so close. He had to get to her now or he wouldn't have enough time to pull his chute.

His fingers grasped hers and when he finally pulled her flush against his chest, the river was alarmingly close. He didn't have a choice now. Holding onto Kate as tight as he could with one arm wrapped around her, he reached up with his free hand to pull the cord on his chute, releasing it.

As fast as he could, he reached down with that hand as well, just as he felt the chute catch them, nearly knocking the breath from his lungs. But he'd managed to hold onto Kate (barely) and that was the important part.

They were still falling fast though. Sure, the chute was slowing them down, but not quick enough. He hadn't given it enough time so when they hit the water, it felt like hitting solid concrete.

-)()(-

For a moment, Peter was sure that Neal was going to stay. He was positive.

He was wrong.

As he watched his friend walk away, towards the plane, towards Kate, he wanted to plead with him again, but the words wouldn't come. Neal had made his choice and Peter didn't blame him for it one bit. Fowler's deal trumped his.

Even after the door slid shut and the engines grew louder, Peter stayed. Even as the plane started taking off and as its wheels left the earth. He watched it until it was just a dot in the sky, fading off into the clouds. 

"You're free," he whispered, trying to convince himself that this was fine. So maybe Neal hadn't fully faced the consequences of his actions. Maybe he should have served out the rest of his sentence. None of that mattered now. This was what he'd chosen and there was nothing Peter could do about it.

'Move on,' he told himself.

However, as he turned to walk back to his car, he heard something, a distant sounding boom that gave him pause. As he turned back around, looking in the direction the plane had gone, he felt his heart stop.

In the sky was a burning fireball giving off black smoke. A trap, a setup, a way to kill both Neal and Kate at once. Those thoughts crowded his mind, locking him in place for a second before he shook them off enough to dash for his car. He needed to get there. Now. 

On his way through heavy New York traffic, he called Jones and had him round up the team as well as notify NYPD.

As he talked, there was constantly one thought in the back of his mind.

How could they have survived?

It seemed to take forever to get to the waterfront where people were already staring and pointing at the falling bits of debris. Peter searched the sky, eyes wide with shock.

As he watched, something caught his eye, something grey that appeared further down towards the water. A chute. He could make it out if he squinted. But only one. And pretty damn close to the river. It didn't look like that was enough distance.

He immediately joined a group of people heading out in a boat, flashing his badge. They seemed happy to have a fed along, someone who knew what he was doing, one guy said. Peter wasn't planning on waiting for the Coast Guard.

-)()(-

It was dark and cold. He couldn't breathe.

Neal slowly opened his eyes, but they stung as salt water came in contact with them. Water. Underwater. Where was up? Where was Kate?

He was still holding her. Good.

As he started to kick for the surface, white hot pain shot through his legs and he screamed, releasing what precious air he had left.

Right. Take it slow.

Luckily, they weren't too far down and as he reached air, he gasped, coughing hard several times. He was still tangled in the strings from the parachute, but he let that be for now.

"Kate," he wheezed, struggling to keep both himself and her above the water. It was a difficult task when he had no use of his legs. They burned so fiercely with pain, it was hard to ignore them. Probably broken. Must have hit the water too hard. But that wasn't important. Kate...

He checked her over frantically. Her face was badly burned. Actually, most of her was. She wasn't breathing.

"No, no, no, no," he whispered, shaking her. "KATE!" Screaming her name gave voice to his pain and terror, but it was of no help. She was gone. No, she couldn't be. She needed help.

His head sank back underwater for a moment, making him cough and sputter when he resurfaced. He looked around frantically, knowing he couldn't keep them both up much longer. He refused to let go of her dead weight. No, not dead. She couldn't be dead.

There was nothing but open water as far as he could see, and he wondered what had been the next step in Kate's plan. Surely she would have had a boat or something waiting for them, but he didn't see one around. He didn't have time to wait and see if one would come by. Already, he was struggling just to keep Kate's head up, his own slipping underwater more and more often until he gave up. He couldn't fight it anymore.

As he slipped below the waves one last time, he silently apologized to Kate. And to Mozzie.

-)()(-

Peter scanned the water, searching for two familiar faces in the emptiness. So far, all they'd found were bits of debris from the plane and nothing else. Several of the men on board looked like they already given up hope, but they didn't say anything.

That's what amazed Peter about civilians. They could be just as brave and determined as any cop or fed when the situation called for it.

"Hey!" one of them shouted out, pointing across the water. "What's that?"

Peter snapped his gaze to the dark grey blur sitting just below the surface. His heart stopped. "That's a chute," he said quickly. "Get us closer."

He didn't see any sign of a body, which was good, but then where were Neal and Kate? He paused to wonder if maybe this had been some sort of plan. He wouldn't put it past them to do something like this on purpose to draw attention away from their actual escape.

But then his eyes caught sight of something else and he squinted to try and see down through the water. Dark hair, floating down near where the chute was.

Kate.

Immediately, he slipped off his jacket and shoes, barking out, "I got one!" He trusted the other men to keep the boat nearby while he dove down into the cold water.

Kate wasn't moving, and when he grabbed her, he noticed something else. Or someone else. 

Neal was close to Kate, one arm still wrapped around her, and there was something about that that made Peter's heart ache. But neither of them were moving and he prayed to anyone listening, begging for them to be okay. Somehow he knew they weren't.

As he pulled them both back to the surface, several hands reached down to pull them one at a time from his grasp, then hoisted him back up as well.

Peter stared down at the two bodies lying on the bottom of the boat, soaked to the bone and not breathing. Kate looked... Her face was horribly burned and there was a piece of long sharp metal sticking out of her side. Water mixed with blood pooled beneath her.

One of Neal's legs was bent at an odd angle, but he wasn't burned near as bad as Kate. It was him that Peter knelt quickly beside while one of the men from the boat tried to get Kate breathing.

Peter pressed down on Neal's chest a few times, watching water trickle from his mouth, then bent over him to force air into his lungs.

"Come on, Neal... Come on..."

He had to do this several times, almost thinking about giving up when Neal's body stiffened and he coughed violently, gasping. His face twisted in pain and as soon as he could breathe, he screamed.

It was short, though, and he was out cold again within a few seconds, but at least he was breathing.

The same couldn't be said for Kate.

By the time they made it back to shore, they'd all quietly accepted that she was dead, but Neal was still alive and kicking.

Peter had called for an ambulance on their way back and was relieved to see it waiting for them as the boat reached dry land. He stepped aside to let the EMTs check over Neal quickly, then load him onto a gurney. It all happened so fast, Peter had to rush back to his car in order to follow them.

They took Kate in a different ambulance.

While he drove, Peter called Elizabeth first. He wasn't sure why. He should be calling the team, but... he supposed he wasn't thinking clearly right now.

"Hey, hon," she greeted chipperly as usual. "Still joining me for lunch today?"

"El, there's been an accident," he said. "I have to be at the hospital with Neal." He figured he should just come right out and say it.

He heard her gasp softly. "Which hospital? Peter, what happened?"

"I'll explain everything when you get there," he said, giving her the name of the hospital and telling her he'd have Jones wait for her in the lobby.

After hanging up with her, he called his team, the sound of the ambulance sirens drowning out all else in the background.

-)()(-

The prognosis? Neal had broken one leg and fractured the other, he'd probably get sick from the water he'd gotten in his lungs, and he was on some strong pain medication which the doctor said would keep him knocked out for a day or so. Maybe less. They'd cuffed him to the bed, despite Peter's clear distaste at that. He was a criminal, they said. And since he didn't have his anklet at the moment, it was standard protocol. That was just great.

Oh, and Kate was dead.

Peter had Jones on guard detail and Diana tracking down leads. Someone had tried to kill his CI and that kind of pissed him off, despite the fact that Neal had left. He'd chosen Kate.

Hey, who could blame him? Peter didn't. Well... maybe just a little. But that could wait. 

He sighed, looking over at Neal's still form while El placed her hand on his shoulder. "How long are you going to stay?"

"Just a little longer," he answered, placing his hand on top of hers. They both knew that could mean an hour or it could mean five. Elizabeth gave him a quick little kiss on the cheek.

"I have to go back to the gallery," she said reluctantly. "Call me if anything changes, okay?"

"I will."

And just like that, he was alone with Neal. Funny, he just felt alone. Neal wasn't much company like this. 

Peter rested his head in one hand, sighing as he watched the steady rise and fall of Neal's chest. He wanted to be out tracking down whoever had done this, but how could he leave his friend like this? No, he'd stay until he was sure that Neal was okay.

He settled back with his phone in his lap just in case Diana called. As soon as he set it down, he suddenly picked it right back up as it hit him.

Mozzie.

Mozzie didn't know.

For once, the little guy actually answered after the first ring. "Don't bother, Suit, Neal isn't with me."

"I know," Peter said. "Mozzie, he's hurt bad. Somebody tried to kill him."

Silence for all of two seconds and then, "What? But Kate..."

"Kate's gone," Peter said gently. He didn't know if Mozzie had been good friends with Kate or if she was just as much a mystery to him as anybody else.

"Gone, as in...?"

"She's dead."

Judging by the upset silence after that, yeah, Peter was guessing that Mozzie had known Kate very well. The three of them must have been quite the team. But what mattered right now was Neal, so Peter quickly gave Mozzie the name of the hospital and told him to get there soon, if he could.

"No promises," was his reply. But Peter heard the man already slamming a door, so he figured he'd be seeing him soon.

-)()(-

The last thing Neal remembered was drowning, but not like... 

It had been nice. He wished he could go back to that. Now he just felt heavy and groggy. Where was that comforting weightlessness, the clarity?

"Neal?"

That could be ignored. It was just Peter. He could wait.

He was missing something... something important. Something he was supposed to... No, wait... He was so confused.

"Neal."

Alright, fine. Maybe Peter had answers. But then where was he? Maybe it had something to do with that clicking noise, and... He realized his hands were moving of their own accord, in a familiar way and he stopped them for a second while he dragged his eyes open.

Where were his hands? Off to the right. Oh, cuffs. He'd been picking them. Or trying to. He was pretty sure a pencil wasn't the best tool to use for that sort of thing. Where had he gotten a pencil anyway?

The answer was smiling slightly in amusement, sitting in a chair further to his right. Peter. 

"Old habits, hm?" the older man said quietly.

"Why-?" Neal managed, his voice rough. He ended up abandoning the rest of the question, his chest burning and threatening to send him into a coughing fit.

"Hey, just relax," Peter soothed. Since when was Peter the soothing type? "You need your rest, Neal."

Neal just looked at him through hazy eyes. He was still missing something important. "What aren't you telling me?" he rasped, then immediately started coughing hard.

Kate. That was it. Now he remembered. She was supposed to be here.

He managed to gasp her name before Peter shushed him. "Kate can wait," he said, placing a hand over Neal's. "Okay? You just focus on you right now. Deal?"

He just nodded, eyes slipping shut again despite him wanting to stay awake. As he felt the pencil taken gently from his grasp, his mind drifted back to Kate. Something wasn't right...

-)()(-

Peter felt awful. He didn't like lying to Neal, or rather keeping the truth from him. Same thing. 

Diana dropped by again to give him an update. The debris from the plane was still being fished from the water, and Kate's body was being examined already. As soon as they had any news, he would be the first to know.

"Thanks, Diana," Peter said, giving her a small smile.

"Anything you need, boss?" she asked gently with a glance at Caffrey.

"No, but thank you. That'll be all."

After she left, Peter settled back in his chair. He intended to wait as long as it took for Neal to wake up again. He didn't want him to be alone.

Casting another glance at the handcuffs tethering Neal to the bed, he sighed. No anklet for a while. Not with how messed up his legs were. But really, where did they expect him to go in his condition? Cuffing him to the bed was like putting a leash on a lawn ornament. It didn't really need to be there.

It actually didn't take Neal that long to wake up again, and this time, it was more sudden. His hand tightened its grip on the sheets and his face tensed in pain as he opened his eyes. Seeing Peter, he rasped, "Hey..."

"Hey," Peter said, leaning forward. "Are you feeling any pain? I can go get a nurse."

Neal shook his head no, his eyes roaming around the room before they landed back on Peter. "Kate?"

He should have expected that to be the first thing Neal asked about, but even so, he wasn't prepared to tell him the truth. Unfortunately, his slight hesitation was enough for Neal to know something was wrong and he asked quietly, "Is she here?"

"No," Peter answered. 

"Do you know where she is?"

"Yes."

A short silence, and then Neal made a pained face again. Peter knew it wasn't just from his legs.

"She's gone, isn't she?"

There was no avoiding that one.

"Yes... I'm sorry, Neal."

Neal just turned his head away, tears already spilling over. His face crumpled as he cried silently, and Peter just sat there, having no idea what to do. Elizabeth was the one with the good bedside manner, not him. Especially not with something like this.

Fortunately, Neal didn't stay awake long after that, and Mozzie arrived soon after. Peter never thought he would see the day when the little guy willfully walked into a hospital. But this was for Neal. He supposed he shouldn't be surprised.

What did surprise him, though, was that Mozzie had brought along some flowers and a ratty looking stuffed bear. He didn't ask, and Mozzie didn't tell. 

-)()(-

Being trapped in the hospital with two busted legs was one thing, but being there and knowing what had happened to Kate was another.

Neal didn't talk to anyone very much, not even Moz. He had far too much on his mind. He kept wondering if there was anything he could have done, anything he should have done.

Peter kept reminding him it wasn't his fault, and deep down, he knew that. But he wanted to ignore it. The guilt that filled him was the only thing he could feel and he let it consume him. For a time.

Then he snapped right back into case mode, refusing to let his grief catch up to him. "The plane was supposed to explode, but not that early. She would never make a mistake like that."

"Foul play?" Peter questioned, once again seated to his right.

"Clearly," Neal mumbled, then looked at the man. "You need proof. Have you talked to Fowler? He knows something about this."

"Slow down, Neal. You need to rest, okay? Let me handle this."

"He can't get away with this," Neal said firmly, and Peter just looked right back at him with the same expression.

"Let me handle it," he said again. "There's nothing you can do right now. I'll find Fowler."

Neal just nodded. Finding Fowler wasn't enough. He needed to go down for this, by whatever means necessary. That wasn't normally his way of thinking, but that was how he felt now. He knew Peter wouldn't approve. Revenge was a dangerous thing, but sometimes it was necessary. This was one of those times, no question about it.

He kept thinking about how Kate must have felt...

Peter snapped him out of those thoughts. "We'll get whoever is responsible," he said gently. "I promise."

'Don't make promises you can't keep,' Neal wanted to say, but instead just nodded.

He'd let Peter do his FBI thing. But as soon as he was out of this hospital, he and Moz were doing this their own way.

-)()(-

He didn't think it would all lead to this.

Neal stood there, a gun aimed at Fowler's chest, and a look of rage in his eyes that he didn't want to see for himself. 

It felt all wrong, and he was scared of the situation at the moment, but he kept telling himself it was necessary. He wanted Kate's death to be avenged, and if this was how it had to be done, so be it.

Of course, he should have expected Peter to be there. But he was prepared to deal with that. It didn't matter. 

"Tell me what you know," he demanded, completely ignoring Peter and Diana.

Yet somehow... he knew exactly how this was going to end. Peter was right. He was no killer. He couldn't pull that trigger even if he wanted to, and oh how he wanted to.

He found himself listening to Peter's voice instead of the one in his head screaming Kate's name, and when he looked over at the agent, he knew it was over. The gun was taken from his grasp, leaving both hands free to run through his hair. It hurt to let it go, but it was the right thing.

The right thing...

Since when was this right?

He turned back around, hearing an exclamation from Peter, but the agent wasn't quick enough and Neal's fist connected with Fowler's jaw.

There.

That felt right.

He turned away again to face Peter's disappointed look, but there was also reluctant understanding. Fowler wasn't innocent in all this, and despite what the agent said out loud, Neal knew he'd been wanting to do the same thing for a long time.

Back in cuffs, Neal was led away by Diana, and he let himself be steered out towards the car and put in the back seat.

Fowler didn't kill Kate. But Neal was going to rain hell on whoever had.


End file.
